Chapter 2.
There’s No Way My Baby Could Be the Second Male Lead (2)
Chirp.
Chirp.
Chirp.
What is this strange, artificial-sounding birdsong?
My officetel was on a high floor in the middle of the city, so I never heard birds chirping.
I snapped my eyes open and stared at the ceiling. Instead of the plain wallpaper the landlord had put up when I moved in, the ceiling was covered in wallpaper decorated with four-leaf clovers scattered here and there.
Am I dreaming?
I turned over again. The bed, which had seemed strangely narrow, was now much wider, and I thought I could smell something delicious, too.
“Looks like you’re having a nice dream.”
It was an ordinary morning routine I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
See? Good things always happen when I think about Eunho.
Thinking I’d sleep just a little longer, I shifted my body. When I pulled up the blanket, a lavender scent wafted toward me.
This dream is so realistic. I can even smell fabric softener.
“Moon Yerim! Aren’t you going to school? Your father’s leaving without you!”
Huh? What was that supposed to mean?
“Yerim! I told you already! If you don’t come out, your father’s leaving you behind!”
Before I could even begin to understand the situation, the bedroom door flew open.
Well, that was strange for a dream. No, if this wasn’t a dream, it was even stranger.
I live in a studio apartment!
I turned toward the doorway and saw an unfamiliar woman wearing an apron and sighing. The middle-aged woman approached me and mercilessly smacked me on the butt.
“Ow!”
It hurt. If it hurt, then this couldn’t be a dream. But more importantly, who was this woman, and why was she hitting me?
Perhaps she noticed my bewildered expression, because she put her hands on her hips and looked down at me as though I were hopeless.
“How old are you? Do I have to wake you up every morning? Are you going to get up or not? Today’s the first day of school!”
“W-Wait! Who are you? Why are you hitting me like this…?”
“Who am I? Ha! Look at you. You watched that movie about amnesia yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Ah! What are you doing? Why are you hitting me?!”
“I’m your mother!”
Her merciless smacks continued, moving from my butt to my back. Desperate to survive, I scrambled out of bed and crawled across the floor.
Just as I was about to run outside, I spotted a neatly arranged school uniform in the wardrobe.
I stopped in my tracks and stared at the school emblem and the yellow name tag prominently attached to the uniform vest.
Moon Yerim.
This is strange. I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.
Was she an old classmate? Or perhaps a coworker I’d rather not think about? If not, then who was she?
As I stood there staring at the yellow name tag, the school emblem beneath it caught my eye.
Hanguk High School.
No way.
Seriously?
“Ahhh! Hanguk High School? Moon Yerim?!”
“What’s wrong with you? Hurry up, wash your face, and come out for breakfast. I’m giving you thirty minutes. Otherwise, you can walk!”
The bedroom door slammed shut again.
I stood there, quietly fingering the school uniform vest in my hands.
If it was Hanguk High School, then it was the school attended by the characters in Welcome! Summer Film.
And if that was the case, Moon Yerim was definitely…
“Follow me. I’m the club president here.”
She was the class president of the class shared by Semin and Dogyeom, as well as the president of Summer Film, the movie club at the heart of Welcome! Summer Film.
Putting all the pieces together, I distinctly remembered seeing a bright light just before I blacked out.
And if this wasn’t a dream…
“Don’t tell me… I’ve possessed someone?”
I couldn’t believe that something I’d only ever seen in novels, dramas, and movies had happened to me.
I reached out and looked at Moon Yerim’s hands. They were slightly different from mine. Her skin texture, complexion, and even her voice were all different.
The person reflected in the mirror hanging beside the door wasn’t Oh Young.
It was Moon Yerim.
“This is insane. I really did possess someone!”
Honestly, it was a blessing in disguise. Ever since I quit my job as a nurse, I’d spent so much time hating myself.
And now, I’d become an entirely new person—one who even happened to be a character in my favorite novel!
There was only one thing I regretted.
I hadn’t possessed Semin.
“If I were Semin, I’d kiss Eunho right away and steal the male lead for myself!”
Since things had turned out this way, I had to see the beautiful Eunho, Semin, and Dogyeom with my own eyes.
I opened the bedroom door to go wash up, only to gape at my surroundings.
It was a two-story house, the kind that only truly wealthy families could afford.
Downstairs, Yerim’s mother—or rather, my mother—was preparing breakfast with a housekeeper. She looked up at me and asked,
“Why are you out here? Are you going to wash up outside? Why aren’t you using the bathroom in your room?”
Not using the bathroom in my room…?
Come to think of it, the room was huge, and the bathroom inside was luxurious, too.
Was Moon Yerim’s bedroom about the same size as my entire officetel?
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I couldn’t help saying,
“I’m so glad I possessed Yerim! Thank you, God!”
“What on earth is wrong with you so early in the morning? Your father said he’d leave you behind!”
If I was going to possess someone, I might as well possess a rich person!
\*
“He seemed like the kind of dad who doted on his daughter, but he’s surprisingly strict.”
Just as Mom had warned me, Dad had left for work without waiting for me.
While eating breakfast, I’d pieced together the situation from the conversation around me and learned that Moon Yerim usually rode to school in her father’s car.
Trying not to arouse suspicion, I asked how to get to school by bus.
My mother, who I still found it awkward to call Mom, irritably put down her chopsticks.
“You always complain about taking public transportation. You’ve forgotten everything, haven’t you? You’ve forgotten it all! Wait for the driver at the back gate after school. He’ll come pick you up.”
She resumed eating without another word.
Unlike me, she didn’t seem the least bit suspicious about anything.
Seriously, how rich is this family? She’s just an extra character!
I was happy. As expected, the author didn’t create even a single character carelessly.
I hurriedly stuffed the rest of my toast into my mouth, grabbed my bag, and got ready to leave.
Now that I was certain I’d possessed someone, I had to see the characters with my own eyes.
“You’re not eating anymore?”
“No, I—yes. I mean, I’m done! I’m off to school!”
Being outside for long periods was still difficult for me, but now that I thought of this place as the world inside a novel, I felt like I could manage.
Besides, how long had it been since I’d gone to school?
To be honest, I was a little excited.
\*
“Get off!”
“Ahhh! I’m getting off, too!”
The moment I boarded the bus, I understood why Moon Yerim usually rode to school in her father’s car.
People squeezed themselves into every available space.
So many people had boarded that the bus slowed to a crawl as it wound its way up the hill.
Trapped in the crowd, I nervously watched my surroundings. When I saw several students in school uniforms pressing the stop button, I hurriedly made my way off the bus with them.
“Wow, I almost died.”
The moment I stepped off, I let out the breath I’d been holding.
Tomorrow, I’m waking up early and taking Dad’s car to school. No matter what.
“Hey, hey. Keep your head down.”
“Isn’t that Bae Eunho?”
“Wow, he actually came to school. I thought he wouldn’t show up.”
“Don’t make eye contact with him. You’ll get into trouble for no reason.”
As I slowly caught my breath and looked around, I noticed several students whispering among themselves while staring in a particular direction.
Wait a minute. Bae Eunho? Could it really be that Bae Eunho?
I hurriedly looked up and followed their gazes.
Long legs and broad shoulders. Naturally wavy black hair, a small scar cutting through one eyebrow, a sharp nose, sparkling eyes, and full lips.
He was handsome enough to have stepped straight out of the novel’s descriptions.
My favorite character. My male lead. My lifesaver.
Bae Eunho.
“Holy crap, Bae Eunho!”
I shouldn’t have said that, but the words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.
At my shout, the students who’d been whispering turned to stare at me.
Apparently, I hadn’t been the only one who heard me. Standing in front of the school gate, Bae Eunho turned his head and looked at me with a crooked posture.
My nerves were so bad that I could hear myself swallowing.
Eunho slowly began walking toward me.
“What the hell? Do you know me?”
Even the sportswear jacket zipped all the way up to his chin looked different on Eunho.
Swearing at someone you’ve just met?
My muttering had been a little too loud.
I clasped my hands together as naturally as possible, trying not to offend him, and said,
“H-Hi! Well… I’m a really longtime fan of yours, so… I couldn’t help shouting when I saw you.”
“…A fan?”
“Yeah! You’re my favorite character! So…”
“Hey, watch your head!”
“Student, move!”
Before I could explain myself to Eunho, something long and heavy came crashing down onto my head.
It wasn’t a towel or a sheet of paper. The material was rough to the touch, and I reached up to feel whatever had fallen over me.
When my vision finally cleared, Eunho was glaring down at me with an expression even more displeased than the one he’d worn when he first heard me swear.
I lowered my head.
What had just fallen onto me was the banner that had been hanging high above the school gate.
That’s right. I hadn’t even checked what point in the story we were at.
And it’s been so long that I’d forgotten.
If my ominous premonition was correct, this banner was…
“Oh dear! Mr. Kim, I told you to hold on to that properly! It fell on a student!”
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, student.”
“Are you hurt?”
“If you’re okay, could you hand that over to us?”
“CONGRATULATIONS! BAE EUNHO, SECOND-YEAR STUDENT, WINS GOLD MEDAL AT THE NATIONAL JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS!”
This was Eunho’s last judo banner.
After that competition, he injured his ankle in an accident and could no longer practice judo.
That was why he became a delinquent who did nothing but fight during his third year…
And now, I’d just called someone like him…
My fan? My favorite character?
I slowly raised my head.
The scarred eyebrow that had looked so attractive just moments ago twitched upward.
Suddenly, that handsome face looked terrifying.
“…Are you making fun of me right now?”
